Merging
__TOC__ Summary Merging is the most basic and crucial action done in Merge Dragons!, after Tapping. The game is built in a grid shape and in order to perform a merge, a minimum of 3 identical objects are needed to be placed adjacent to each other. Mind that not every 3 or more adjacent objects will automatically make a merge, only if you actively dragged one object to an additional 2 or more, the merge will occur. Dimensional Jars Since 2.0.0, mergings have a chance to create Dimensional Jars which are available for limited time and can be opened with Dragon Gems. The jar will offer an additional object of the same level as the one which have resulted from the merging itself. Verifying a merge Sometimes, when you shift objects around too fast, unexpected things happen: accidental merges or not merging the correct number of objects. Note that this is how the shifting of objects via dragging works. When the object is being moved to a new place, it eases into/tends to the new position. That is, it moves slower and slower to the new position. This, of course, makes the movement of objects much more fluid. But that is also a source of unwanted merges when you are doing it too fast. To verify a merge, do not let go of the object yet. The other identical objects will also be moving back and forth in the direction of the object you are holding, but that may be unreliable. Is there a correct number of white square outlines around the other identical objects you want to merge? If you want to merge 5, there should be 5 of them. If there isn't 5 of them, shift the object you are holding onto the neighboring tiles, especially onto another identical object, and then shift it back to the original place where you want the merge to happen. And look again to verify. Repeat if necessary. *image(s) required* Outcomes of a merge Note that in this section, a merge is assumed to be made of 3 objects. Merging will typically yield 1 object of the next level. However, there are many merges that create more than just 1 object. * Merging Magic Mushroom Caps may create Magic Shroom Stalks, which is 2 Levels higher. * Merging Legendary Dragon Trees creates an Arcane Dragon Tree as a by-product. * Merging Bones yields 3 or more Life Flower Sprouts. * Merging Life Flower Seeds may yield additional Life Flower Sprouts. In some cases, additional objects that are not related to the main merge chain will be created. * Merging Dragon Trees of Levels 4 and above may create Glowing Dragon Trees as an additional by-product. * Merging Fungus Logs creates Magic Mushroom Caps as an additional by-product. Some merges will not grant a next level object but rewards or miscellaneous objects. * Merging Fruits creates Magic Coins, and sometimes, Life Orbs. * Merging Grimm Chests of Despair creates either Piles of Riches or summons a Swamp Zomblin. * Merging Life Flowers, Dragon Trees, Prism Flowers create Healing Power. * Merging Golden Apples sometimes creates Dragon Egg Chests/Nest Vaults or Magic Coin - Gold instead of the next level Golden Apple. *''This may be an incomplete list. Feel free to add to this. Spooky trees? Graves? Other seeds?*'' Dead Land Merging Merging can also assist in healing Dead Land. If one or two objects of the same kind are adjacent to each other and on dead land near healed land, the player may merge them out of the Dead Land and also heal it as a bonus. The healing power required to heal it is ignored. It is the only way to heal Super Dead Land, other than using Heal Extenders that are adjacent to those. Many of the later Levels has heavy use of the concept of Dead Land Merging.This is also relevant in Event Maps where there are many Dead Land that requires 5,000 Healing Power to heal, and the player may find it easier to heal those through merging. *Image(s) required* Types of Merges 3 Objects Merging (3-merge) The most minimal merge requires 3 identical objects to be actively placed adjacent to each other in one movement. The reward for merging 3 objects is 1 object of the next level. 5 Objects Merging (5-merge) The most efficient merging, requiring 5 identical objects actively placed adjacent to each other. This merge is more difficult than the 3-merge as there must be 2 groups of identical objects that are not in direct contact with each other. The reason being is that any group of 3 identical objects will already be combined. The reward for merging 5 objects is 2 objects of the next level, which is a significantly better outcome. Push Merge While the fact that when this happens it is always an accident, it is also possible to merge objects by pushing one into a group of identical objects using a miscellaneous item. Merging Table There is a pattern linking merging X number of identical objects and the Y number of objects of the next tier created, but generally, the way to go is to always merge in multiples of 5. The algorithm goes at follow: First, the system calculate the number of objects merged=(X). if X=3 it would return Y=1, Ejected X=0. if X=4 it would return Y=1 and Ejected X=1. If X is not 3 or 4, it will devided it by 5, and would check the module(fraction): if it's 0(0/5=0) it would return Y=X/2.5, Ejected X=0 if it's 1(1/5=0.2) it would return Y=(X-1)/2.5, Ejected X=0 if it's 2(2/5=0.4) it would return Y=(X-2)/2.5, Ejected X=1 if it's 3(3/5=0.6) it would return Y=(X-3)/2.5+1, Ejected X=0 if it's 4(4/5=0.8) it would return Y=(X-4)/2.5+1, Ejected X=0 Chances speacking when merging large amount of objects, there is 20% chance of getting an ejected X as the module must be 2. Combo Merging It is possible to do combo merges by placing groups of consecutive levels of objects in the same merge chain in a certain pattern. In order to make a single combo, 3 objects of the same merge chain must be available, and additional 2 identical objects of the next level. If a more complex combo is desired, 2 objects of the next level are required, and so on, capped at 4 levels for passive combo chain(which means once you activate the first object and let the objects merging without dragging new ones for 5 tier and 6 tier etc). Easy to do with 3 objects merging, nearly impossible with consecutive combo chain of 5 objects merging. In order to make a combo Combo merges create Loot Orbs containing healing power, which is proportionate to the combo number. One Loot Orb is created per combo, so a combo of 3 will create 2 Loot Orbs. If all the land at the Level/Camp is healed, it will be automatically added as points to the Score. As can be seen above (Setup for a combo of 8 (3-merges)), the player needs to be quick to sustain the combos. Just after the first object was placed, the 5th level must be dragged quickly as possible to the place where the 2 level 1 ones were, and afterwards do the same for 6, 7 and 8. Math Corner, Efficiency & Wastage As mentioned before, merging 5 objects is more beneficial than merging 3, but it really matters the higher level of the object you want to achieve or that if you seek to only have the final level of the merge chain. Efficient Method (5-merge priority) Here is the most efficient way(the minimal method) to get a single level 13 life tree, by always merge in 5s, but at times 3s. Inefficient Method (3-merge only) Here's the most inefficient way(the wastage method) to create a single level 13 life tree, which means always merging 3 objects together: Comparison The number of Life Flower Sprouts required by the 5-merges-priority method is much lower than required by the 3-merges-only method. The wastage percent is the number of units that could be saved if the more efficient method had been used. It is calculated by (N_efficient / N_inefficient) * 100, with N_efficient being the number of base units required for the efficient method and N_inefficient being the number of base units required for the inefficient method. In fact, since the numbers increase exponentially the higher up the merge chain you want to go, the wastage percent increases quickly as well. The amount you'd use in the inefficient method for a level 13 life tree (531,441 Life Flower Sprouts) could be used in the efficient method for a level 15 Life Tree (478,050 Life Flower Sprouts) and even have leftovers. Refer to the Wastage Graphs. Merge Chain Tables There are three ways of merging where you might utilize while playing. # You want to create just one of the max level object in the merge chain. (I.e. a Wonder) # You want to create two of the max level object in the merge chain. # You want to keep creating the max level objects over and over again. For 1, you would be performing 5-merges whenever you can, but sometimes you will be performing 3-merges because you would require more base units if you merge more than that. Refer to table for merging Minimally for 1 Object. For 2, it is the same as 1, except that you require more base units. Refer to table for merging Minimally for 2 Objects. For 3, you will perform 5-merges only. Note that this method is the most space consuming method. Refer to table for 5-Merges-only all the way. An example of referencing the tables: Using the 5-merge-priority method, two Rainbows will require 12,398,250 Life Flower Sprouts (Minimally for 2 Objects) and the merge-5-all-the-way method will require 14,939,065 Life Flower Sprouts (5-Merges-only all the way) and will result in tons of leftovers (17%). Therefore, the minimal amount of Life Flower Sprouts needed for 2 wonders is 12,398,250 however if you go 5 all the way, it will be 14,939,065 with leftovers. Minimally for 1 Object Minimally for 2 Objects 5-Merges-only all the way Graphs, because everyone love graphs: Category:Game Mechanics